Struck Speechless
by ineedasunrise
Summary: Bella and Edward's wedding is coming up soon, and they have to start letting people know about it - Including Charlie. As things begin to go smooth, something happens to a close friend of Bella's, & she is faced with a problem. Please read and review!
1. One: The Ring

CHAPTER ONE

Before, I had decided not to wear the ring. I was very against it, and the marriage. Edward knew this - And he said he was okay with it. He knew I loved him more then anything else, he knew that! I just didn't want to get married because we were so young. He knew how I was raised with my mother, who said that people who get married young are stupid. I really didn't like the word 'marriage'. I loved him so much, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but not get married right out of high school. I still hadn't told Charlie... I didn't even know how I'd tell him. But I knew this was important to Edward. It would make him happy, which was really all I wanted.

I walked into his room, and I saw him opening the small box with my ring in it. He closed it when he saw me, and tried to put it back in the drawer without me noticing.

"Edward..." I said softly, sitting next to him on the bed that had no purpose. He smiled that crooked smile that I absolutely loved, and kissed my forehead.

"It's alright, Bella," He said, his voice smooth.

"You know I love you," I said. He nodded.

"Mmm," he said, closing the drawer. "And I love you too, darling."

"You know why I don't want to get married too," He nodded again. But I knew our conditions, and I was willing to agree with them. If I married him, he would turn me into a vampire, and not Carlisle. I know that it really didn't matter who did it, just that I was going to be turned into one, but something felt good knowing that Edward's lips would be the last thing that touched me in my human life. This may be stupid, I know, but it was what I wanted. And then there was my condition, which he said we would try, after our wedding, before the vampirism.

But I knew he wanted me to wear the ring; that beautiful ring. I sighed slowly, and a grabbed his hand, turning slightly to face him, and I looked up into those eyes.

"I'll wear it," I said. He was silent for a moment, studying my expression as he does often. "We're getting married in a month and a half; I should wear it, I _want_ to wear it."

"What?"

"The ring," He glanced up at me, looking into my eyes, and I nodded. "I want to wear it." He slowly opened the drawer and pulled out the little box, never taking his eyes off of me. He opened the box, still looking at me, waiting for me to interrupt, and slid it on my ring finger. I smiled slightly, looking at it on my hand, and leaned in and kissed him. He kissed me back, so gently, but so romantic, and I lost my breath. He pulled back, chuckling at my human ways, and kissed my forehead, putting his arm around my waist.

"I love you," he whispered. I smiled and leaned into his chest, shivering against his cold body.

"I love you too," I said, "and I can't wait to spend the rest of my existence with you," I looked up at him, as his gorgeous, perfect lips curved into a smile. He kissed my forehead again, but noticed I was cold, and quickly frowned. He pulled the big blanket off of the bed and wrapped it around me, pulling me close again.

"Better?" He asked. I looked up and nodding, smiling. I was still cold, but it didn't matter, I could sit like this, with him, forever. We sat in silence for a while, him playing with my hand in his. All this time, I thought about how to tell Charlie. I knew I'd have to, and I knew I'd have to soon.

Someone knocked on the bedroom door, and I knew it was Alice. Did she see my decision that it was time to tell Charlie? I needed her there, too, when I did, just so Charlie wouldn't try to kill Edward. Or me.

"Come in, Alice," Edward said, knowing it was Alice too. Alice walked in slowly, with a smile on her face.

"Edward," she said, her voice velvety and soft. "I assume you know that Charlie needs to know about the engagement." He nodded. "So we're going to tell him, today, at dinner." I looked at Alice, my expression confused, and she giggled, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "We're going out to dinner. It will be you, Edward, Charlie, me, and if you don't mind, Jasper."

I knew she'd think of some fancy way to let Charlie know that I was engaged.

"Dinner? Why?" I asked.

"Don't worry, Bella. It won't be horrible. We'll go to a nice restaurant -"

"But not too nice," I cut her off. I didn't want this to be a big extravagant deal. She glared at me.

" - But not too nice," She continued, "And we'll eat, and let Charlie know."

"But you guys don't eat." I said, hoping she'd forget the whole dinner thing and try something else.

"No worries, Bella," She said, smiling. "We'll take care of that."

"But!" I tried to interrupt.

"_Bella,_" Alice scolded. "Don't worry about it."

Now, Edward had a grin on his face, and he was happy about Alice's idea of dinner. Ugh, why couldn't we just go to Charlie's house, announce the marriage and leave? "Now Edward," she said, standing up, "I'm going to need Bella to help her get ready. I already made reservations, and I called Charlie and invited him." She grinned, knowing that I hated the idea. Edward was still smiling as he stood up, helping me up as well.

"Don't I have a say in this?" I asked.

"No, love. I'll see you soon," He said, kissing me on the lips quickly, and he left the room.

"We have so much to do!" Alice exclaimed happily, clapping her perfect hands together.

A/N: Sorry, it's somewhat short... The others will be longer, I've written up to the third chapter, but still tweaking! Please review! :)


	2. Two: Announcement

**CHAPTER TWO  
**

Alice pulled me into her room, where she had three beautiful dresses on her bed, for me, I assumed.  
"I say this one," She said, holding up a blue dress. "Edward will love it on you," I actually did like it the best out of the three. It was simple, which Alice knew I loved, but also very beautiful, elegant. "Perfect for the occasion, right?"

"I love it," I said, being honest. Alice could tell I wasn't lying this time, and grinned.

"Great!" She said happily. "What time is it now?"

I looked at the clock near me and said, "Six."

"Good, we have a little less then an hour to get ready. Dinner is at seven. Are you excited?" She asked me, brushing through my hair so she could put it up in some fancy up-do. I looked down at my feet.

"Excited isn't the right word," I said.

"Well, what is?" I searched for the right word, trying to think of something that wouldn't upset Alice, or Edward, since I figured he was reading Alice's thoughts.

"Nervous."

"Nervous? Why?"

"Well," I sighed. "I'm Charlie's only daughter, I'm getting married right out of high school, which he won't approve of..." I said slowly. "To a boy he doesn't approve of." I choked out.

"It's not like Charlie's the one getting married, Bella," Alice said, trying to make me think different of the situation. "And you'll be happy with Edward, won't you?"

"He's my everything," I said quietly. She smiled. She loved this romantic stuff.

"If you're happy, I'm sure Charlie will be happy too." I thought about this for a moment.

"I don't know," I said.

"Bella!" She sprayed some hairspray in my hair. "Charlie just wants you to be happy."

"Charlie just wants me to marry Jac...someone else." I said. I didn't mean to say 'Jacob', but she knows that it's true. Charlie wants me to marry Jake.

"Do you want to marry Jacob?" She asked quietly. I thought about this.

"Absolutely not," I said. I was being honest. I love Jacob, I do, but... I love Edward more. "Edward is the only one. There's no one else I'd rather be with." She smiled, I could see her through the mirror. This made me smile. She knew it was true.

She finished with my hair, and I must say, it looked great. It was curled, beautiful. I stood up, ready to get into the amazing dress that she'd picked out, when all of a sudden she pulled me into a hug.

"I can't wait to be your sister-in-law," She grinned. "You're already part of the family, though."

"Thanks, Alice." I smiled. I looked at the clock, that read, 'six thirty'. I hadn't realized that it took so long to do my hair. "I guess I'll get changed now," I said, even more nervous then before. It was getting closer to when I'd have to tell Charlie.

I walked downstairs in the dress and heels Alice had bought me, carefully, so I didn't fall. I saw Edward at the bottom of the stairs, in a gorgeous suit; He looked stunning. He took my hand as I made it down the stairs and pulled me into a romantic kiss that took my breath away. "You look amazing," he whispered into my ear.

"As do you," I gasped, catching my breath as he smiled and kissed me softly again.

"Did I dazzle you again?" He teased.

"You always do," I looked up to see Esme and Carlisle, both smiling, hand in hand. Esme walked up and hugged me, kissing my cheek.

"You'll be fine," she whispered, nodding, and walking back to Carlisle. Carlisle smiled and nodded towards me. I smiled back. Emmett and Rosalie were there as well, and I looked at Rosalie, as her lips curled into a tiny smile, which quickly went away, and she nodded. Emmett's smile was big and wide, as he looked at Edward, and then me.

Then finally, Alice and Jasper. Alice was in a beautiful pink dress, her hair curled. I wondered how she got ready so quickly, after helping me. Jasper was in a suit as well, his arm wrapped around Alice's waist. 'Six-fifty', the clock read.

"Time to go," Alice said smiling, grabbing my free hand with hers, and squeezing it slightly. "It'll be great."

Jasper opened the front door for Alice, as she danced her way gracefully to her Porsche. I frowned.

"Alice! Do we have to take your Porsche?" I asked. She sighed.

"Fine..." She slipped into the Volvo as Jasper opened the passenger seat door for her. He turned and walked around to the front seat to drive, as Edward opened my door for me. As I slid in, he kissed me gently.

"I love you," he said softly, closing my door and walking to the other side. He slid in close to me, grabbing my hand, my left hand, with the ring on my finger. Alice glanced back occasionally, smiling as she looked at my hand with his.

We arrived at the restaurant right at seven. My stomach was in complete knots, tossing and turning the whole way here. We got a table for five, and I still wondered how the whole food thing would work out. I remembered that one time at Charlie's, when I asked Edward to eat the piece of pizza. He did; but he never explained how that worked.

We hadn't ordered anything as we waited for Charlie to arrive. I wasn't surprised that he was late. "Everything will be fine, Bella," Edward whispered in my ear. "Don't worry, love." He kissed my forehead softly, which always made me smile. I kept my eyes on him, and I tried not to think of anything else, to keep my nerves down, but thinking about him made my heart race. I couldn't seem to stop thinking about Charlie, and how he'd react.

"Alice?" I asked. She looked over at me. "Will things go smooth? With Charlie, I mean?" I needed to ask. Just then, Charlie walked in, and Alice waved him over, smiling wide.

"Hi Dad," I said, trying to hide my ring, smiling a nervous smile.

"You look quite nice,"

"Thanks. You, too," I said, even though he really didn't. He wore this ratty old suit that he's probably had for twenty years.

"Hello, Charlie," She said, hugging him.

"Hi, Alice." He said, slightly smiling. He saw Jasper, "Who's this?" he asked.

"This is Jasper," She said, a grin on her face. Jasper stood up, and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, chief Swan." Jasper said.

"Please, call me Charlie. It's nice to meet you too." Edward stood up out of politeness, and put his hand out to shake Charlie's hand. Charlie waved at Edward, and I glared at my father.

"Charlie," I mumbled, just loud enough to hear. I knew they all heard too, but if they were like normal humans, they wouldn't have. "Stop."

"Hello, Edward." He grunted, shaking his hand quickly. Edward smiled. How could he be so polite to him, when Charlie treated him like crap? I thought.

"Hello, Sir,"

Soon, we all sat down, and the awkward 'hello's' were over, thank God. We order drinks, and I watched as mine and my father's went down, but none of theirs did. When we ordered food, Alice claimed that she wasn't really hungry, which I suppose was the actual truth, but she did order something small, as did the boys. My dad really didn't notice that they hadn't ate much, or drank much for that matter, he was too busy scarfing down his meal.

"Charlie," Alice said, after a short conversation about Charlie's police work had died down. She smiled wide as she nudged me. She nodded towards me, and Charlie poked at his steak, grunting to let her know that he heard her. "We'd like to make a little...announcement." She said, choosing her words carefully. He looked up at her, wiping his mouth on his handkerchief.

"Announcement?" He asked. I sighed. It was time. It was now or never. I had to do it now. I thought about whether I should make a big long speech about it and babble on about nothing, or just get right down to the point.

"Dad," I said. I had to make my decision quick. I glanced at Edward on my left side, and Alice on my right. They both grabbed my hands under the table as I sighed again. Charlie was waiting. Edward nodded at me, and flashed that gorgeous smile of his. I hesitated at first, but I finally let it out.

"Charlie, Edward and I are getting married."


End file.
